Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide and God Complexes

First, read this article … I’ll wait…

http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/palliative-care-facilities-have-no-plans-to-offer-assisted-suicide-1.2544821#_gus&_gucid=&_gup=Facebook&_gsc=4QEXuWM

While in the grand scheme of all that is going on in this world, perhaps, to some, this is not a big issue. Luckily, like many other people, I am able to be passionate about more than one issue at a time.

I live in Québec; assisted suicide is now permissible in my province of Canada. There is, currently, a phalanx of doctors and other health professionals jumping on the ill-informed bandwagon.

A lot of rhetoric that boils down to, “You can’t make me!” On the other hand, what they are also saying is that they can and will force patients who would choose otherwise, to suffer in unimaginable pain.

Bill 52 is called the Right To Die bill and it was passed by the Québec government. Québecois now have the right to determine if they wish to live in pain, if they wish to continue with a terminal illness or simply die with dignity. The aforementioned “You can’t make me!” contingent is choosing to take this most personal and deep decision away from the individual who is suffering. They have decided that they have the right to determine who lives and who dies.

I had to watch my mother suffer unimaginably and when it was clear that there was no hope; she was turned down by a palliative care facility close to family. The reasoning? She may not have survived the move and 15 minute ambulance ride. So instead, she was forced to remain, for what turned out to be hours, in a hospital room, far from family, in a horrible environment because the facility made an arbitrary decision over how and where my mother should die. They took the choice away from her and from us, her family. This a palliative care facility is partially funded through government money and yet, took the authority upon themselves to deny access to my mother, to die in a familiar and more comfortable setting.

And now, this same facility, is again planning to take away personal choice. Death, it seems, must happen under their rules.

We all die. Such an easy concept to understand yet, it appears, the medical establishment views death as personal failures. Get over yourselves. You cannot nor will you ever be able to stop the dying process.

Medical professionals have a duty to their patients and one of those duties is to allow the patient the right to determine their fate. Bill 52 has very strict guidelines. There will be no widespread euthanasia of dementia patients, of the intellectually or severely physically handicapped. Husbands will not be knocking off their wives or vice versa. The decision is the patient’s, alone, to make. The patient will undergo a rigorous consultation process before this right is granted. Gold-digging relatives will have no say. Selfish family members will have no say.

There will always be those people who choose to hang on to life until the last breath. And now, those who choose to leave this realm, when there is no other option than pain meds and diapers, will have their own say in how they leave. Terminal illness does not happen in an instant; there are tests and there is time. I’ve heard the argument that palliative care gives the individual and family time to say good bye. And how does the Right to Die bill alter this, in any fashion? Family needs to come to acceptance? I’m sorry but this is not the family’s call. They are not dying. They will have the same time to grieve as will anyone else.

This is a RIGHT to Die bill. The Right to die. The right to determine when we join the night sky or whatever myth gets you through. We have a right, as individuals, to determine this most personal of all decisions. There is no decision more personal or individual. No doctor, no nurse, no bureaucratic should have ever or should ever make that decision for us.

I may hang on, kicking and screaming when my time comes or I may choose to leave on my own terms, in peace. Regardless, this is a decision of my choosing and no doctor who wishes to play god should make that decision on my behalf.

GASP!!! SOYLENT GREEN IN THE GREAT WHITE NORTH!!!

Don’t know if you’ve heard (most people don’t even realize Canada HAS news…) but there was a rather important ruling by our Supreme Court on Friday; Canadians should soon be permitted to die with dignity when a mentally competent individual of legal age, is in unrelenting pain with no hope for recovery.   I live in Quebec where we were given this right last year, by government and judicial decree.  The religious nutbags are trying to fight it, summoning up images of old folks being knocked off by greedy relatives – the actual law notwithstanding and damned inconvenient to their hyperbole.

You see, “freedom of choice” is extremely relative to the religious.  Absolutely, freedom but as long as it conforms to their particular strain of the god myth.  Abortion is, of course, the most infamous example; the religious would have all women complete a pregnancy regardless of the risk to the mother or the child.  Oh they are all up in our vag’s and uteruses(?)…uteri(??) but they suddenly disappear in a puff of smoke when the baby arrives, perhaps needs specialized care or even when the child is healthy but inconveniently needs food/shelter and clothing…  Not their concern anymore.

An extreme example of stupidity in human form would be this turd in a small bowl… http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/west-virginia-republican-says-rape-can-be-beautiful-if-it-produces-a-child/   Go ahead, read it…but be warned, a couple of Advil will be required due to the number of face palms generated by the article.

The idiocy of this man simply hurts the brain; rape can be beautiful if it produces a child…  One must ponder for a moment, would this moron’s opinion be the same if it were his wife, daughter or granddaughter?  Would he find a son/daughter born of rape a welcomed addition to his family?

So back to our Supreme Court decision; this ruling is common sense.  The right to die with dignity shouldn’t even be open for debate and definitely shouldn’t be the purview of any government.   I feel the same way about abortion; I’m funny like that – I figure people should have the right to determine what goes on with their own bodies as long as those decisions do not cause physical harm to anyone else.  Example; you want to be a lush?  Have a time but your right to be a lush ends as soon as you get behind the wheel of a vehicle and potentially cause harm to someone who does not choose to be a lush.  Drugs?  Again, feel free but if you leave those needles around, if your habit interferes with someone else’s health and happiness – your right ends…ABRUPTLY.  Vaccinations?  Fine, don’t vaccinate – listen to that notable scholar and expert in science – Jenny McCarthy and place your child at risk but don’t be outraged when schools, community organizations, sports associates tell you that your child is persona non grata.  Your decision puts others at risk and that is a right you simply do not have.

Freedom of choice; freedom over my body.  If I develop a terminal illness; I demand the right to not suffer, to not force my beloved group of family and friends to suffer due to my illness.  Who knows?  When put in that position, what our choice may be but make no mistake, it is OUR choice.  Not the doctors’ choice, not the local priest, rabbi, imam or reverend; the choice to die on our own terms is our own.  Not even our family can make the determination.

The ruling by our Supreme Court is very clear and very concise, regardless of the various Chicken Little lobby groups baa’ing and howling.  There will not be a wholesale slaughter of the elderly or the disabled.  The ruling states the individual must be of sound mind, they must be in unbearable pain and there must not be any chance of recovery/remission.  This means the elderly who suffer from Dementia/Alzheimer’s will not be euthanized.   This means that those in a coma and unable to respond will not have a plug pulled by some Death Committee.   This means that the intensely mentally challenged or mentally ill will not be put out of their misery.  The only people afforded the right to die with dignity will be those who have the mental/intellectual capacity to fully understand the process, the procedure and outcome.

Thank you to the Supreme Court for allowing a glimmer of hope for a future based on common sense as opposed to religious/lobby group hysteria.

 

National Assembly restores right-to-die bill

National Assembly restores right-to-die bill and other legislation | CTV Montreal News.

Quebec is a province of contradictions.  I believe Quebec was the first province with legal abortion clinics.  We are leading the pack with this right-to-die legislation.  The most important and absolutely personal decisions in the lives of its citizens.  And these decisions are being LEFT to the individual and not government bureaucrats.  This from a province once held in the stranglehold of the Roman Catholic church.  An entity that does not believe in personal choice.  

I’m very proud of Quebec’s position.  No one has the right to determine the most important life altering decisions of an individual.  There will not be a lemming reaction to this bill however, those who do not choose to see their lives end in pain and misery will have the right to leave this realm with dignity.  

The nay-sayers, primarily from the religious right, are wailing over potential abuse.  Obviously, not having the intelligence or capacity to study the bill…  The decision is that of the individual AND 2 doctors.  I’ve recently had to deal with an individual under the care of more than one doctor.  Getting them to agree on anything until there are absolutely no options is like herding cats.  A greedy or immoral family member will not have the right to make this decision.  There will not be an option for the selfish motivations of others.  The INDIVIDUAL must sign a consent form and the doctors MUST agree.  

There won’t be a line-up at the Express Exit window. People will hang on. No one truly knows how they will react in the face of death. Some will hang on, some will try anything, like peach pit cures but for the others but for those who have weighed the options and find that the cure is worse than the disease or ultimate conclusion? They will now, legally, be entitled to make that ultimate personal choice to die with dignity.

I want the right to die with dignity.  No.  Correct that – I DEMAND the right to die with dignity.  I will not be told how I will leave the mortal coil by those so wrapped up in the fear of what happens “after”. I don’t believe anything happens “after”.  No heaven, no purgatory, no hell.  Just an ending as all things must end.  No fuss, no muss, just an end.  The world will continue to turn, people will continue to be born, wars will rage and lovers will love – my death or the death of anyone else on this planet won’t alter the physical world in the least.  The universe will expand or contract or whatever the hell it is doing at any given moment.  Dying is as completely natural as is birth.  Why is it treated like something dirty, to be hidden away and spoken of, in hushed tones?

Death is a sad event, to be sure but it doesn’t need to be all-encompassing. Remembering the departed with love, with laughter and with sweet memories is the best honour. Once we begin to do this, then death will not be such a taboo topic. It will be the right of passage of the person. It will be the final act of the natural world. The laws of nature. All things must come to an end. Enjoy the beauty while living. Don’t wait until the book of life has ended and there are no other pages to be written. 

I will be rendered to ash and hopefully, either scattered on the Caribbean sea or in a bio urn with the seed of a tree. It won’t really matter though, I’ll be dead. End of story. Book of Life is closed and placed up among the billions, trillions of other books already written. Thanks for the memories.  It’s been real.  

My Dog Bit My Child!!!

I’m on Facebook. I get annoyed. A lot. I am very annoyed by pictures of children treating dogs and cats like stuffies. Being a responsible pet “owner” is paramount but particularly so when children are in the vicinity. I trust my dog with my life, however, I do NOT trust an interaction with a child. Children do not understand how to read a dog’s body language; well, actually, nor do many adults.

The pictures of little kids kissing dogs gives me cold chills. Most dogs do not feel secure when someone is up in their faces. It makes them nervous and speaks to their most base instincts – fight or flee. Also one must consider the natural habits of dogs; they sniff everything, including poop – dog poop, cat poop, rodent poop… and you want your child kissing poop residue or perhaps even inhaling a parasite of some sort? The mouth/salivas of a dog are NOT more hygienic than human saliva/mouths.

We have to stop treating our pets like, well…pets. They are living beings with a history of their own and it doesn’t include being mauled by little children. How many of us would tolerate our ears being pulled or fingers jabbed up our noses or in our mouths? I would get pretty testy after a while, if I am to be honest.

Or having a stranger run up to us and throw their arms around us, or stick their hands in our hair? After the initial punch in the nose for protection, I’d call the cops – if the damage I inflicted wouldn’t land me in jail, of course. And just try to take my Crunchie bar out of my mouth…you’d be missing a few fingers, I can guarantee you that, yet? People permit this to happen every day, in millions of homes and then stand there, in stupid amazement, when someone, usually a kid, is bitten. And the dog is either given away or put down for something that is not their fault but the fault of the adult humans around them.

You cannot trust the interaction between a dog and a child. Neither of them is totally cognizant of the other.

We share our homes, lives and love with an American Standard Pitbull Terrier (he’s probably a mix). I, ABSOLUTELY, insist that my granddaughter and my furry buddy be kept separated. Chico, our four legged prince, is not used to children. He’s a great dog, one of the best. Terrific temperament and loving but he is a dog. My granddaughter is a child. The two should NEVER be permitted to get up close and personal. Children need to be taught, along with potty training, how to interact, properly, respectfully and above all, safely with a dog. Any dog. Even a Yorkshire terrier can bite…hard.

Human arrogance is always behind every bitten child. Every dog who ends up being kicked out of his home or in the very tragic and all too common scenario, destroyed, is the victim of an irresponsible pet owner and an arrogant human being.

Your dog “loves” you, is it so much to ask that you return that love with a little respect for him/her? Don’t allow a child to interact with a dog on a child’s level. Don’t allow them to be used as a pillow or a toy. They are living beings, with reactions conditioned by millennia of evolution and survival. They are not human. They don’t think they are human. They know who they are, if you love them? Acknowledge them and don’t put them at risk of losing their lives due to your ignorance of their species. (Click on the image for some essential education.) 

Darwin Was Wrong

After witnessing an unfortunate exchange between two individuals; it was made, rather glaringly, obvious that Charles Darwin has some s’plainin’ to do. The discussion centered on spaying and neutering our animal companions; someone managed to get their little tidy whities in a knot over a post to spay and neuter pets. Person took it personally, as well he should have done. Survival of the fittest gone wrong; too much protection for the weaker of the human species has allowed the population of ijits to balloon.

The problem of pet over-population lies within the boundaries of the less-than fully lit human light bulbs out there. These dull bulbs are under the ridiculous assumption that possessing an animal is a right. Let me, therefore, enlighten this concept for those unable to grasp this situation to its full and tragic end; owning an animal is not a right. Sharing your domain with an animal is a privilege and one that bears tremendous responsibility, both financial and personal. If humanity could simply understand the term “personal responsibility” millions of innocent companions would not be put to death for no other reason than the aforementioned “PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.”

If you live in an apartment? Understand that leases end but your responsibility toward this trusting animal does not. Some landlords refuse to entertain the thought of pets in their buildings. What will you do if you have to move and the only place available doesn’t permit animals? Unpleasant reality that must be faced, not shelved in the back of the mind until it happens and another pet dies in a shelter.

Can’t afford to spay or neuter? What, the hell, are you doing with the animal then? If you can’t afford to spay or neuter, what about standard vet check-ups? What about future vaccines and medication to prevent illness? What happens if you pet gets sick? The operation is nothing compared to the long term cost involved with an animal. Get a pet rock instead, you selfish bonehead. I’ll bet you can afford smokes, fast food, internet hook-up and movies though because these things are so much more important than the life of an animal.

Let your cat out to roam free, because – “Gee whiz, that’s their nature!” Bullshit. It’s a dog’s nature as well but luckily, there are laws forcing people to use their heads. Cat owners seem to need the same help with common sense. The real truth is that it is easier than cleaning a litter box. Less of a bother having to show affection to the feline when you are on computer and their life expectancy is drastically reduced so less of a long term bother when the cat is allowed to roam.

There is only one reason animals are still being euthanized in shelters. There is only one reason the domestic animal population is out of control. There is only one reason for this:

And this – stupid, stupid humans and their irresponsibility.

WARNING – GRAPHIC CONTENT! PETA IS A FRAUD.

So PETA stands up for the ethical treatment of animals?

The real truth is far from that. Ask yourself, where was PETA when this occurred?

This travesty happened in Colorado. Not in some far off place and it continues to happen; in the U.S. and in Canada, most notably the seat of the country’s government – Ontario.

Do you donate to PETA? Then you are as guilty as the people who committed the atrocity pictured here because PETA euthanizes animals that have the horrible misfortune of coming under their care.

While these beloved family pets are being slaughtered simply because of their breed and for no other reason, ask yourself when did you hear PETA shout out about this? The answer would be “Never” because they are perpetrating the same crimes in their facility in Virginia.

PETA doesn’t want people to have animal companions. They don’t want people to share their homes with birds, the popular smaller rodents, reptiles, amphibians and even fish would be verboten if PETA had their way.

They want all medical testing on animals to cease, even at the cost of human lives. Medications that can save a cancer patient, someone suffering from Aids, diabetes, all the diseases that plague mankind – testing would be stopped if PETA had their way. Testing on animals is a necessary evil. There is no other way, PETA lies. And yet, while they beat their breasts for the poor lab animals, most of whom receive better care than the majority of their human brethren on this good earth, they euthanize harmless cats and dogs. For no reason other than it is too expensive to house and see them adopted out.

Their spokesperson? Pamela Anderson? Drives a Viper with all leather interior. Those sacks on her chest that imitate real breasts? Tested on animals. The hair colour? Tested on animals. The make-up? Again, tested on animals. The collagen and BOTOX? Tested on animals.

Do you donate to PETA and abhor animal testing? Do you wear make-up or use shampoo? Do you use soap? Deodorant? Mousse or hair spray? All of these things are tested on animals before put on the market. You know those labels that proclaim the company does not test its products on animals? It is true, they don’t. They CONTRACT the testing out to specialized labs. They have to do this otherwise their products would not be approved for the marketplace. So keep that in mind the next time you write a cheque to PETA, as you dash out of the house to have your nails or hair done.

Should puppy mills be banned? Absolutely. Dog fighting? Without a doubt, it should be halted and huge jail terms imposed. Should the sale of animals be prohibited in “pet stores?” Definitely. Should the sale of animals through such online market places as EBay, Craig’s List or Kiijjii be stopped as well? That’s a no-brainer – of course it should be stopped. Want an animal companion of some sort, go to a REPUTABLE breeder.

If you aren’t a responsible, reputable breeder, for the love of all that’s good? Have your companion spayed or neutered, immediately. Do you want any animal winding up under the “care” of PETA? To be euthanized simply because he/she exists? If you can’t afford the operation, then perhaps you should have thought more clearly about the responsibilities of owning an animal. Adopt a dog or cat, from a no-kill shelter – most of them have these creatures spayed and neutered already.

Take a good, long, hard look at these photos and remember them as you write out that cheque for PETA. Remember their statistics and their oh-so-loud silence on the subject of Breed Specific Legislation.